September 6th, 2020 Study Guide
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Clean Hands or Clean Heart (Part 2) - Mark 7:9-23
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHT: Legalism, moralism, externalism. These things are a gospel that is not the Gospel, and yet they live amongst us; they trouble our hearts. These things seduce us and do grip us and often define the way we think about ourselves and the way that we think about others.
This passage marches us to the Cross. It defines the collision between Christ and the Pharisees, the collision that would finally make them determine that had to die. It also establishes the need for the Cross, because if the diagnostic of Jesus is right, there is no hope for us but the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ - absolutely none!
The Loophole (Mark 7:9-13).
9 And he said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. 11 But you say, If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.
The Lesson (Mark 7:14-19).
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled? (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
The List (Mark 7:20-23).
20 And he said, What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
REFLECT:
1. (Verse 9) Why is it wrong to take a commandment or opinion of man and teach it as if it is promoting a doctrine of God? (This is what supports legalism. It gives man’s word the same weight as God’s Word).
2. (Verse 9) Is everything in the Christian life a matter of right and wrong? (Many things are simply matters of personal conscience before God. For example, the Scriptures do not command ritual washing before meals (see Mark 7:1-5). If you want to do it, then fine. Do it unto the Lord, and without a sense of spiritual superiority before your brothers and sisters. If you don't want to do it, that’s also fine. Don't do it unto the Lord, and don't look down upon those whose conscience compels them to do the ritual washing).
3. Is it possible that church constitutions and bylaws have more authority, in some people's eyes than the Word of God? (Yes, tradition can never take the place of truth. It is good to examine our church traditions in the light of God’s Word and have the courage to make Scriptural changes).
4. How is pushing away the only trustworthy and infallible source of authority (the Word of God) an act of spiritual suicide? (Notice the sinful progression. (1) The Pharisees and Scribes taught the commands of men (Mark 7:7). (2) The Pharisees and Scribes left the commands of God (Mark 7:8). (3) The Pharisees and Scribes rejected the commands of God (Mark 7:9). (4) The Pharisees and Scribes voided the commands of God (Mark 7:13).
5. Is it easy for you to see hypocrisy in others? (Often, the answer is yes. It is easy for us not to see our own spiritual deafness, dumbness, and blindness).
6. (Verses 10-13) God commands that children honor and respect their parents, which includes assisting them financially. How did the Pharisees and Scribes create a “theological loophole” around this command? (The word “corban” is a Hebrew term meaning “given to God.” It refers to any gift or sacrifice of money or goods an individual vowed to dedicate specifically to God. As a result of such dedication, the money or goods could be used only for sacred purposes. Such a vow (Numbers 30:2) had to be honored, and it allowed them to dis their parents, neglect their needs, and feel good about it because it was done in service to God. This would allow a son to say to his parents, “Everything I'm going to make, I have pledged to God, and therefore, mom and dad, in your older age, I cannot make provision for you.” This illogical thinking led them to believe that they could serve God by disobeying His expressed command to honor their parents.)
7. Why is this thinking spiritually lacking? (One, it makes the Word of God void. Two, it puts man-made traditions above the commands of God. Three, it opens the door for many more similar actions that reveal the hardness of our hearts; the hypocrisy of our worship; the disobedience of our actions).
8. Is it possible for us to be as guilty of legalism, moralism, and externalism as the Pharisees and Scribes were in Mark 7? If so, how?
9. (Verses 14-19) Many people, saved and unsaved, believe that our greatest difficulties exist outside of us and not inside of us. What does Jesus say? (Our problem is an internal problem, and so acts of external behavior do not solve the problem. If our problem was just behavior, then the law could provide rescue, but our problem is not behavior; our problem is our very nature; our problem is the essence of who we are. Your problem is you. My problem is me).
10. How can Jesus us? (Jesus came to rescue you from you; to rescue me from me; to deliver us from us).
11. Why do did you need to be rescued from yourself? (One, your problem is not first murder; your problem is a murderous heart that allows you to hate other human beings that are made in the image of God. Two, your problem is not first physical, sexual immorality, but an immoral, lustful heart that wants things that are outside of God's will for you, that craves the pleasures of sexual immorality more than you crave the honor of your Lord. Three, your problem is not physical stealing, but a ravenously materialistic and covetous heart that seems never to be satisfied.)
12. (Verses 20-23) Sin’s root will produce sin’s fruit. And it is an ugly, destructive crop to behold. Jesus provides a selective list of sin’s fruit. He highlights no less than 13 characteristics of the evil actions that flow naturally from a sinful heart—actions that always result in sorrow, harmful behavior, and death. The list has a strong Old Testament grounding.
Our purpose in life is not to glorify ourselves or to gratify our deceitful desires. Our purpose is to honor Christ and magnify Him. And the only way to do this is to pay attention to what is going inside our hearts (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 12:2).
This passage marches us to the Cross. It defines the collision between Christ and the Pharisees, the collision that would finally make them determine that had to die. It also establishes the need for the Cross, because if the diagnostic of Jesus is right, there is no hope for us but the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ - absolutely none!
The Loophole (Mark 7:9-13).
9 And he said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. 11 But you say, If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.
The Lesson (Mark 7:14-19).
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled? (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
The List (Mark 7:20-23).
20 And he said, What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
REFLECT:
1. (Verse 9) Why is it wrong to take a commandment or opinion of man and teach it as if it is promoting a doctrine of God? (This is what supports legalism. It gives man’s word the same weight as God’s Word).
2. (Verse 9) Is everything in the Christian life a matter of right and wrong? (Many things are simply matters of personal conscience before God. For example, the Scriptures do not command ritual washing before meals (see Mark 7:1-5). If you want to do it, then fine. Do it unto the Lord, and without a sense of spiritual superiority before your brothers and sisters. If you don't want to do it, that’s also fine. Don't do it unto the Lord, and don't look down upon those whose conscience compels them to do the ritual washing).
3. Is it possible that church constitutions and bylaws have more authority, in some people's eyes than the Word of God? (Yes, tradition can never take the place of truth. It is good to examine our church traditions in the light of God’s Word and have the courage to make Scriptural changes).
4. How is pushing away the only trustworthy and infallible source of authority (the Word of God) an act of spiritual suicide? (Notice the sinful progression. (1) The Pharisees and Scribes taught the commands of men (Mark 7:7). (2) The Pharisees and Scribes left the commands of God (Mark 7:8). (3) The Pharisees and Scribes rejected the commands of God (Mark 7:9). (4) The Pharisees and Scribes voided the commands of God (Mark 7:13).
5. Is it easy for you to see hypocrisy in others? (Often, the answer is yes. It is easy for us not to see our own spiritual deafness, dumbness, and blindness).
6. (Verses 10-13) God commands that children honor and respect their parents, which includes assisting them financially. How did the Pharisees and Scribes create a “theological loophole” around this command? (The word “corban” is a Hebrew term meaning “given to God.” It refers to any gift or sacrifice of money or goods an individual vowed to dedicate specifically to God. As a result of such dedication, the money or goods could be used only for sacred purposes. Such a vow (Numbers 30:2) had to be honored, and it allowed them to dis their parents, neglect their needs, and feel good about it because it was done in service to God. This would allow a son to say to his parents, “Everything I'm going to make, I have pledged to God, and therefore, mom and dad, in your older age, I cannot make provision for you.” This illogical thinking led them to believe that they could serve God by disobeying His expressed command to honor their parents.)
7. Why is this thinking spiritually lacking? (One, it makes the Word of God void. Two, it puts man-made traditions above the commands of God. Three, it opens the door for many more similar actions that reveal the hardness of our hearts; the hypocrisy of our worship; the disobedience of our actions).
8. Is it possible for us to be as guilty of legalism, moralism, and externalism as the Pharisees and Scribes were in Mark 7? If so, how?
9. (Verses 14-19) Many people, saved and unsaved, believe that our greatest difficulties exist outside of us and not inside of us. What does Jesus say? (Our problem is an internal problem, and so acts of external behavior do not solve the problem. If our problem was just behavior, then the law could provide rescue, but our problem is not behavior; our problem is our very nature; our problem is the essence of who we are. Your problem is you. My problem is me).
10. How can Jesus us? (Jesus came to rescue you from you; to rescue me from me; to deliver us from us).
11. Why do did you need to be rescued from yourself? (One, your problem is not first murder; your problem is a murderous heart that allows you to hate other human beings that are made in the image of God. Two, your problem is not first physical, sexual immorality, but an immoral, lustful heart that wants things that are outside of God's will for you, that craves the pleasures of sexual immorality more than you crave the honor of your Lord. Three, your problem is not physical stealing, but a ravenously materialistic and covetous heart that seems never to be satisfied.)
12. (Verses 20-23) Sin’s root will produce sin’s fruit. And it is an ugly, destructive crop to behold. Jesus provides a selective list of sin’s fruit. He highlights no less than 13 characteristics of the evil actions that flow naturally from a sinful heart—actions that always result in sorrow, harmful behavior, and death. The list has a strong Old Testament grounding.
- Evil Thoughts: Evil devising and schemes. They set the stage for what follows.
- Sexual Immorality (porneia): General word identifying any and all sexual sins contrary to God’s will. It includes premarital, extramarital, and unnatural sexual behavior.
- Theft: Stealing. Taking from another what is not yours. The eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19).
- Murder: Taking an innocent life. The sixth commandment (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17).
- Adultery: Violating the marriage covenant by engaging in sexual behavior mentally (Matthew 5:28) or physically with someone you are not married to. The seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18).
- Greed: Coveting, a desire for more at the expense or exploitation of another. The tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21).
- Evil Actions: Behavior that is bad, wicked; deliberate malice.
- Deceit: Deception, dishonesty, cunning treachery.
- Promiscuity: Unbridled, shameless living that is lacking in moral discernment or restraint.
- Stinginess: (lit. “an evil eye”) - Figure of speech for envy, jealousy, rooted in unbelief. It believes God is withholding His best from you. A heart ailment that has the seeds of its own destruction sown within. It is never satisfied! It always wants more.
- Blasphemy: Slander; defaming; speaking evil of man or God.
- Pride: Arrogance, haughtiness.
- Foolishness: Senselessness; spiritual insensitivity.
- What functionally and effectively rules your heart?
- What do you want?
- What do you crave?
- Is Jesus Christ your Lord in those domains?
Our purpose in life is not to glorify ourselves or to gratify our deceitful desires. Our purpose is to honor Christ and magnify Him. And the only way to do this is to pay attention to what is going inside our hearts (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 12:2).
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